Glowing?

I don't think I am actually glowing, but I am showing...

(first installment of 3, 6, 9 month series)

Grey will be a big brother come August 6th

(hopefully a week or so early)

You may have guessed by now if:

You caught me sneaking enchiladas in the middle of the night

I could not remember your name

You called me in the middle of the day and I was fast asleep

I ate 5X the amount you did--and was still hungry

You noticed the massive breakouts all over my face

You unfortunately witnessed my crazy-lady mood swings

Tough Choices

*Share the tiny 5-ft square shower with a 3-ft toddler every time

*Sneak in and out of the shower before Grey knows I disappeared

*Use half of that blessed nap time for a shower instead of getting important things done

*Hurry and take a shower before Grey can pull off all his clothes and get in

It is no wonder my legs hardly ever get shaved... Sorry babe!

image: subculturegraphics

Yeeeeehaw!

I took Grey to the Stock Show because he loves farms, tractors and animals. I ended up wandering all over the place completely lost. No one there could help me find anything... or I was just dumb! Either way... we did get to see lots of animals and Grey definitely had a blast! I was a little in shock myself at how huge some of the animals are.

Jared & I secretly want to live on a ranch (or at least visit one...). I love the idea of being completely self-sustaining and all natural. Plus I love riding horses!

Oh and I fell in love with these adorable, snuggling piglets.

Potty Training Diaries: Day 4

progress...

Bought 2 more packs of training underwear

No accidents today

Sitting down is the preferred method

No major bathroom wipe-downs

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.....

Will our weekend in the mountains undo everything?

Potty Training Diaries - Day 2

A trip to the library for more potty books and movies

A little begging and pleading from my end

Two stickers on the potty chart

Which means two jelly beans also

I think this is progress

Is there a book on how to respond when your child will not sit, but only stand and shoot pee all up the wall behind the toilet? A little dribble actually made it into the toilet. Sticker? No sticker?

Potty Training Diaries - Day 1

Accidents all over the house. Constantly.

No stickers on the potty chart.

No jelly beans.

Ran out of clean underwear a few hours in.

I am worn out...

photo: zenobar

Camera Time

I took some studio photos while Grey was watching last week. He kept trying to get in the photos and posing the same way. It was hilarious (and slightly irritating!).  I gave in and took a few... I must take advantage of having him smiling in front of a camera.

Oh he makes me laugh!

Yummy Granola

My cousin Jess sent me a fabulous granola recipe. Her family is expert at making wonderful granolas and healthy foods. The first time I made it--lets just say it was a slight disaster. I was a little distracted. It is very easy and this time it turned out perfectly. It is great for breakfast with milk or as a dry snack any time.

Granola

Dry Ingredients (8-9 cups)

4 cups rolled oats

(you can also substitute cups of wheat germ, wheat bran, or oat bran)

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup crushed flaxseed

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp cinnamon

Wet Ingredients (2-2 1/2 cups)

3/4 cup sunflower oil

1/4 cup water

1 cup maple syrup (or substitute 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup honey)

2 tsp vanilla extract

Optional: chopped dried fruits

(cranberries, apricots, raisins, etc.)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix wet ingredients in a small microwaveable bowl and heat for 30-45 seconds until they are thoroughly mixed. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and mix to coat everything well.

Spread granola out no more than an inch thick in two 9x13 baking pans. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 1/2 -2 hours depending on desired crunchiness. Stir granola in pans every 30 minutes so it bakes evenly. Add dried fruit after baking.

Lucky Me!

I never win anything.

But I came across a giveaway blog and last week I won a complete blog makeover by Blogalicious Designs. I am thrilled to have my blog updated from the modge-podge mess I had created.

If your blog is in need of an update, head over there and you can buy anything from a $3 button to a complete blog makeover for $95 and everything in between. They create new headers or you can buy a pre-made template to add to your own blog.

Thank you Stephanie & Staci!!!

PS. Look to the left and see I added the follow me area--It is sad that I only have one follower.

Tester Recipe - Silky Lentil Soup

I had some lentils needing to be used up and found a recipe I hadn't tried yet from Weight Watchers. It is packed full of whole grains and veggies and is very filling. It turned out so yummy plus Jared loved it too!

My changes: I added a couple teaspoons of white vinegar, 1-2 teaspoons chicken bouillon, 1/4 teaspoon more of cumin, a dash of allspice and some pepper. The only thing I would change next time is to add a few more carrots. I might experiment with some other veggies as well. I think red peppers or zucchini would taste fabulous! I might also leave out the evaporated milk. It tasted wonderful before adding the milk. It just makes it a bit more creamy. but also adds more calories.

I have no pictures this time because it just wasn't very pretty. :)

Silky Lentil Soup

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium green pepper, chopped

2 cups water

1 cup lentils

1/3 cup brown rice

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

27 1/2 ounce + 1 cup canned low-fat chicken broth

8 ounces tomato sauce

1 cup fat-free evaporated milk

Coat large pot with cooking spray; add oil. Place over medium-high heat until hot. Add carrots, onion, and green pepper; saute until tender (5 minutes). 

Add remaining ingredients, except for milk; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until lentils & rice are tender (45 minutes)

Put lentil mixture into food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. (You can break this up by doing half first and then the other half second) Return blended lentil mixture to pot; stir in milk. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

If you are counting points, the value is 5 points per 1 cup serving.

Monday Smiles

Grey came to get me this morning ready to play outside--mostly. This kid keeps me laughing all day long!

What did you do this week?

Jared & I cashed in our Christmas gift from Ken & Jodie for a day of skiing with them. It was a gorgeous day and we had such a fun time spending time together. Thanks for the wonderful gift!

A New Mr. & Mrs.

My good friend from high school, Kathy, got married this week and I was so lucky to be able to throw her shower and be at her wedding with all (most of) our girlies! 

I only took a couple pictures at her shower because I was busy running around. I managed to get one at the end of the night with the girls.

Kristi, Kathy, Tatum, Erica, Christina, Jenn

The wedding was a blast & Kathy had the DJ play our song from high school. Ghetto Superstar!!! What a flashback! For some reason we have a lot of memories tied to that song... Love ya sistas!

Christina, Tatum, Erica, Emily

(I've always been the odd brunette out)

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Meade!

Ringing in '09

On New Year's Eve we took Grey on his first light-rail ride downtown to watch the eArLy fireworks. There were so many people--what a fun place to people-watch! 

We ended up standing right below the building they were shooting them off. We got a little ashy... but so worth it!

Then we came home, got into pj's and watched a movie with our sparkling pear juice... What a perfect way to kick off 2009!